A/N (Long one, but important! Sorry!)

Hello again everyone!

This chapter contains heavy mentioning of child molestation. These scenes are really hard for me to write, but I feel they play an important part in Souta's relationship (or lack of one) with Kagome. I need to beg everyone who reads this story from here on out, that if you are EVER suspicious of any kind of child abuse, please, PLEASE report it in. There are many ways to do so, and you will be helping said child.

No, I've never been molested, and this story is not me venting my frustrations on a horrible childhood.

I've changed my pen name again. So remember, no more TaffyBandit. It's SugarRos. No e at the end. Not SugarRose. Just SugarRos. This will be the last pen name I change.

This chapter is dedicated to Keiko89, for leaving me awesomeness reviews! You helped me whip this chapter out faster, and I hope you like it! On to the chapter!

SugarRos

/-\-/-\-/-\

Chapter Three: Tempted Offer

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Give me my shoe back!"

"Come and get it, you little twerp!"

"This isn't funny guys, common!"

Souta sighed from where he lay on his bed and shook his head, chancing a glimpse from his bed at the two older boys currently playing 'catch' with the youngest in the room.

"Oh, I think it's funny." Said the tallest, a wide grin spread across his face. "I'm laughing."

"Give it back, or I'll-"

"Or you'll what, geek?"

The young boy glanced back and forth between his tormentors before a look of solid resolve crossed his face. "I'll… I'll… I'll tell the Headmistress on you!"

The two older boys looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into fresh laughter.

It was all giving Souta a headache. This place was vile, disgusting, and he hated the other boys and girls that ran around like wild animals, cussing and hitting and teasing each other until he just wanted to curl up under his raggedy old bed and die.

"Kagome…" He muttered out under his breath, grinding his teeth as he sent all his anger into his memory of his older sister. "It's all your fault." He mumbled out, clenching his fists together.

To say that he blamed his sister for his misery would be an understatement. She had abandoned him here, within these dank, dark walls, with only his nightmares to keep him company.

One of the boys threw the shoe too far, and it hit Souta in the head, bouncing off and landing beside his bed. He bent over and picked the shoe up, handing it over to the young boy who had scrambled over to get it.

"Here." He muttered, looking up at the kid.

He didn't look Souta in the eye, but squeaked out a thank you before rushing off to his own bed on the other side of the room. The larger boys who'd been playing catch with the shoe gave Souta menacing glares before stalking off to bother somebody else.

Souta wasn't scared of the older kids that ran amuck in the Orphanage. He knew none of them would touch him. He was, after all, a very special orphan to the headmistress, and she would easily beat the crap out of anyone that harmed him.

Souta hated the fact that the headmistress took such an interest in his well being, for it wasn't his state of mind she wished to protect.

No, his state of mind she'd fucked up already. Souta knew he wasn't normal anymore. He was twelve, not dumb.

You'd think that at twelve years old he'd be able to fight off the headmistress, for what she put him through was horrible. It made him want to puke just thinking of what she made him do.

But he couldn't blame the headmistress for everything. He hated her, but he hated Kagome more. He was her little brother. Her own flesh and blood. And she had left him here to whither away. She had left him here to drive him crazy slowly. Oh so slowly.

"Souta! Souta!"

His head jerked in the direction of the voice, and Rin came running up to his bed, her eyes wide and horrified, and a sudden chill crept down his spine.

Oh no.

"Rin, what is it?"

"Rin saw the headmistress." She explained through heavy breathing, her small body expanding with each breath. "The headmistress is coming for Souta. Rin thinks Souta should hide!" Tears had welled up in her eyes.

Rin spoke as if she were two, not six, like she actually was, and that in itself broke Souta's heart.

The only person in the world he cared for was Rin. Sweet, innocent Rin who put up with drunken beatings from the headmistress. Souta could relate. Because even though Rin hadn't been used for the headmistress's business yet, she still didn't deserve to be the brunt of a drunken rage.

"She's on her way up here?" Souta asked, placing his hand on her tiny shoulder, not missing her slight wince. "To get me?"

She nodded, her eyes tearing more.

"Don't cry, Rin, I'm going to hide under my bed. You haven't seen me today, okay?"

She nodded and ran back to her bed stand at attention, knowing that the headmistress demanded they do so when they were in her presence.

Souta dived under his bed and shivered, curling himself into a small ball, willing himself to be invisible.

She was coming for him again. She would bring him into her office, and... and...

He couldn't stop the fat tears of fear that rolled down his cold cheeks, and he prayed that she wouldn't find him. That no one would rat him out. He could hear her angry footsteps stomping up the stairs. She was screaming, cursing, shoving random kids into the wall as she made her way to the third flood, slamming open the door to the long bedroom where all the orphans slept. Where Souta lay quivering on the hard floor under his bed.

And there she was, in all her drunken glory, standing in the doorway, her usual glass of whisky in one hand, stumbling only slightly.

The kids in the room all scampered to the side of their beds, standing at attention as the headmistress walked in, glaring at each child as she passed them, smacking a few across the face, and spitting on a boys' forehead.

Her eyes moved from one to the next, staring them down, making sure they knew someone was in for it. "Well," she asked, "where is he?!" Souta swore he could smell the alcohol off her breath where he lay. "Where's that little brat?"

She stopped at last in front of a bed, which one Souta couldn't tell, but realization hit him and filled him with dread as he heard Rin's whimpering voice. She grabbed at Rin by the front of her shirt. "Where. Is he." She spoke, her sentence pointed and choppy.

Souta peeked out from under his bed as Rin tried to shrink away from the evil woman's hands. "R- Rin doesn't-"

The headmistress slapped her hard across the face, cutting her off and making Rin cry out in pain. "Little bitch!" She practically screamed. "Where is he?!!"

Rin shook her head. "No, Rin doesn't know! Rin doesn't know!!" She cried louder, tears now streaming down her face.

Souta cursed under his breath. If the headmistress didn't find him soon, she'd probably settle for Rin and take her down to the office instead. His body screamed at him to stay hidden, but his heart couldn't take it if Rin was dragged off in his place.

Biting his lip, he slowly inched his way out from under the bed. "I'm here, Headmistress." He said quietly, wiping away the last of his tears. He stared hard at the ground, not wanting to look at the woman who would soon make him wish he was dead.

The headmistress snapped her head to glare at him, her eyes flashing with anger. "You!!!!" She roared. "What do you think you're doing you little shit?!! Did you really think you could hide from me forever?!!!"

He winced and kept his head down, saying nothing, as he was taught to do.

She grinned. "That's right. Be an obedient little child. You'll make your dead parents proud, unlike that slut-of-a-sister you're related to!" With that, she grasped onto his wrist and yanked him out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

This time, the kids wisely opened up a path for her, their eyes on the floor as Souta's were. She led him into her office, where an older man sat, slightly sweating, perspiration dripping down his temples. Souta shuttered involuntarily as the headmistress shoved him into the front of her desk. Dazed, he slid down onto his knees so that his head would stop swimming. She looked at the older man, who was probably in his early forties, and held out her hand. "That will be one-hundred-fifty."

"Dollars?" The man's voice made Souta shudder. Not again.

The headmistress smirked. "Hardly. That's one-hundred-fifty-thousand." She said. "You get one hour in this office."

The man bit his lip. "It's a bit pricy…"

"Have you seen the child?" She grabbed Souta roughly by the arm and yanked him up, lifting up his chin with her finger. "Look at his skin. He's exactly what you've asked for."

The man reached out as if to rub a smooth cheek, but Souta winced back, clearly showing his disgust. The Headmistress grabbed onto his chin, forcing him to stay put as he felt the man's sweaty palm slide across his cheek.

His stomach heaved.

The man nodded, seemingly satisfied, and handed over the cash without saying a word. "He seems like he'll put up a fight."

"Oh, he will." The headmistress answered confidently as she shoved Souta back to the floor and eagerly grabbed at the wad of hundred-dollar bills.

Oh God. Not again.

Souta would have done anything to be out of the office at that moment. He would have done anything for a sharp object to stab himself with.

He knew what was coming.

Fucking bitch of a headmistress. How was she able to get a job like running an orphanage anyhow? Souta couldn't believe how anyone would want to hire someone who could harm kids the way she did.

As the headmistress left, shutting the door behind her, the man turned and rubbed his hands nervously together, looking at Souta up and down, undressing him with his eyes.

It wasn't like Souta was six, when this first started happening to him. He was twelve years old now.

He knew what was going to happen.

The man closed in on him, and Souta let out one last anguished cry, before he was hurt the way no child should ever be hurt.

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Come on, Sango, it was around here somewhere…"

Sango snorted as she trudged along behind Miroku. "What, you can't remember? How drunk were you?"

"Why, Sango!" He replied without turning around. "I wasn't drunk at all! I was merely accompanying Inuyasha out to get something to eat." He tilted his head upwards to read the street sign, not really knowing exactly where they had been that night. The place did seem familiar, but that didn't amount to much. He was sure, though, if he could just see the ally they'd found her in…

"Here?!" The hint of disgust was evident in Sango's voice.

Miroku was currently on a mission to find the girl who'd been attacked that fateful night, and bring her back to help Inuyasha with his current dilemma. It was an awesome plan. An ingenious plan. A master plan. And no matter how many reasons Sango came up with for why it would fail miserably, he was sure that it would absolutely, positively work.

So sure, in fact, that he was sneaking behind Inuyasha's back to complete his awesome, ingenious, master plan.

With this thought in mind, he turned to look at Sango, not watching where he was stepping, and promptly tripped over someone in the middle of the sidewalk.

Sango let out a sharp laugh.

Miroku cursed. He pushed himself up off his stomach, wincing at his hurt ribs and pride, and turned his head to see what he'd tripped over.

His eyes widened. His heart pounded.

…Could it be?

A girl with dark hair and a pale, pale face sat slumped up against the corner liquor store, her legs stretched out across the sidewalk, which is what he'd tripped over in the first place, her arms limp at her sides, her mouth slightly open.

Miroku turned to sit on his rump, his mouth agape in disbelief. It was her. It had to be. The memory of her struggling under the tight grip on the gang flashed through his mind. It was her, alright. The same facial features, the same dark hair, although she seemed thinner than he remembered, dirastically so, which was strange. It hadn't even been a full week since he'd seen her.

He wondered if she'd eaten anything since he'd last helped in saving her life.

She wasn't wearing the lipstick he remembered. She wasn't even dressed the same. It was warm out, but she had dawned a very large, baggie hoodie, and tan pants that were obviously well warn. She obviously wasn't working the streets today, although her kind tended to only work at night.

"Miroku?" Sango asked, kneeling beside him, having successfully fought off her laughter. "Is that her?"

"I think so."

"You're right, she's not bad looking. In fact, she kinda reminds me of-"

"Sango." He interrupted, reaching out ever so tenderly to place his finger on her pulse at the base of her neck. "Hold that thought."

She didn't seem to be breathing.

Quickly, he placed the back of his hand to her lips, staying as still as possible.

He couldn't feel a thing.

Sango took in a short breath behind him, realizing what was going on. "Is she dead?"

"I can't tell." He quickly placed two fingers on the jugular of her neck. A few seconds later confirmed she was not dead, and Miroku let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was glad that at least one of Sango's explanations about why his plan would fail was not true. The girl was not dead already. "She's alive."

"Oh, thank goodness." Sango's relieved sigh followed his own as she placed a worried hand over her heart. "The last thing we need is to discover a dead body in the middle of the street."

Miroku scooped the young girl into his arms, worrying over the fact that it didn't take much to do so. She was too underweight to be healthy. "We need to get her to a hospital."

"Okay." Sango agreed, falling into step behind him again, a worried frown playing on her face. "Miroku, you have to realize now how ridiculous this scheme of yours is. It's not going to work! The girl's half-dead! You need to forget this crazy scheme so we can go back to the mansion and let Inuyasha figure out who he'll marry on his own, whether it be a real relationship or not."

Miroku ignored her as they made their way quickly down the sidewalk. Sango should know that he wasn't going to drop his plan just because of a little setback. This mystery girl would get better, and she would agree to come live in the Kobun mansion, where she'd be fed as much food as she could eat and have a warm bed to sleep in. He'd make it happen, approval from Inuyasha or not.

"Miroku, listen to me, we can't just-"

"We're not going to just leave her in the hospital, Sango" He interrupted, walking as fast as he could towards the nearest hospital. The tall, white building with the emergency red-cross sign could be seen for blocks in the slums, and he headed towards it as if it were the mystery girls' lifeline.

Which it probably was.

"I didn't mean to just abandon her." She bit back. "She obviously can't afford medical care, we'll have to use Mr. Kobun's emergency credit card."

Miroku smiled at Sango's willingness to help out. She wasn't cruel, after all, and although she apposed Miroku's awesome plan with all her might, she wasn't going to leave the girl to die. Sango was so great. He had to resist the urge to lean over and kiss her. He could do that later. Right now he needed to make sure Inuyasha's way out stayed alive and well.

"What's her name?"

"Huh?"

"Her name?"

He almost tripped again, having been caught off guard by the question. "Uh… I don't know." He answered, having finally made it to the block the hospital was located. "We didn't really get the chance to ask her that night when she was laying unconscious on the pavement."

"What, you left her there before?!" Sango's voice was accusing as she held the door open to the emergency entrance. "Miroku!!!"

"Goodness, woman, I'll give you details in a second." He argued in an uncharacteristic tone as they raced inside the hospital and up to the counter. "This girl needs medical attention quickly." He urged calmly to the nurse who was residing behind the desk.

"Fill this form out." The nurse drawled, her eyes lazy, gum popping in her mouth.

Miroku had to bite his lip to keep from raising his voice. "I'm sorry miss, but you seem to misunderstand me. We found her in-"

"Listen, fella," she interrupted, popping her gun again, "you need to fill out this form or we can't-"

Sango smacked her hand down on the counter, the sharp noise making the receptionist jump in her seat. "No, you listen, lady!" Her voice had raised, almost shouting, and every head in the waiting room turned to the commotion. "This girl is dying! Get a freaking doctor down here before I turn you in to your superiors for refusing treatment to this girl while she's on the brink of death!"

The receptionist stared back wide-eyed at the fuming girl standing in front of her, and slowly picked up the phone in front of her and dialed an extension. "Paging Dr.Hojou, paging Dr. Hojou, emergency patient up front, emergency patient up front." Her voice rang throughout the hospital, and Sango threw Miroku a self-righteous smirk.

"That," she stated, "is how to get things done."

Miroku gave a nod of thanks to the secretary, who glared back a reply, and then turned to Sango. "With that attitude of yours, you'll be coming everywhere with me. In fact, I might need you to talk to some bookies…"

Sango opened her mouth to retort, but a tall, boyishly handsome man in a white lab coat came rushing towards them, accompanied by two nurses and a stretcher. "Is this her?" He asked, looking over the pale girl Miroku was clutching in his arms.

"Yes." He placed her down on the stretcher, and the Doctor motioned for the both of them to follow as they marched in a quick pace down various white halls.

"Her name?"

"We don't know." Sango interjected.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You're not family?"

Miroku shook his head. "We found her on the sidewalk, unconscious, so we rushed her over here."

"So no known medical history…" He shook his head. "…No history of any sort, I need to know if she's allergic to anything."

"She doesn't have pockets on her, no wallet or ID." Miroku added, trying to be as helpful as possible. She was, after all, the main ingredient to his plan.

"This isn't good. I can't do much for her without medical history or insurance."

Sango whipped out the credit card. "We're covering the insurance part."

Dr. Hojou's eyebrows knitted together as they pushed through swinging double doors, entering another hallway. "Such generosity." He replied, slightly weary. His eyes darted from Miroku and Sango to the young girl who looked dead, seeming to be arguing with himself. "Alright then, I'll try and bring her to long enough to give me some information. Finish filling out the forms as best you can and hand them to Ursula up front."

Nodding, Miroku grabbed onto Sango's elbow and led her back towards the lobby as the Doctor turned into a room on the right, barking out directions. "She's extremely undernourished, I need an IV drip ASAP. We need to wake her up, people, and we need to do it fast! Nurse, cut her sweater off, I need access to her chest!"

/-\-/-\-/-\

"Mr. Houshi?"

Miroku stood as the Doctor came to stand in front of him, clipboard in hand, smiling slightly. "Doctor." He nodded.

"How is she?" Sango asked as she stood next to him, slightly worried.

"Oh, she's fine. She's stable, and we're pumping nutritional fluids into her. I say she should be up and around and eating normal foods in three days or so."

"That's a relief." She replied, sighing visibly, wrapping her hand around Miroku's upper arm and squeezing.

"I take it you were able to wake her up?"

Do. Hojou nodded, looking down at his clipboard and reading from it. "Yes, I was, but she was pretty out of it, I didn't get much information. She gave a first name only of Kagome, blood type O Negative… She's allergic to bees, but that's about it, she went out again after that…" His smile widened. "Basically it's a pretty simple process to recovery from here on out."

"Any physical wounds?" Miroku asked. "Other than being too thin?" Sango cast him a knowing glance.

"Nothing recent." He replied. "There are some bruises that indicate she might have been attacked maybe a week or so ago, but that's about it."

Miroku nodded and looked down at Sango. "Can you call Inuyasha and tell him to come down here right away? Don't let him know why."

"Miroku, he's not going to come unless I give him a reason."

"Tell him I got jumped."

Her eyebrows drew together in distaste. "He'll throttle you when he comes and sees that you're not." She huffed. "He doesn't like showing affection, and worry for you that's not deserved will push him over the edge."

"Tell him anyway, I'll take the blame for it."

"Hell yes you will." She muttered, plucking her cell out of her purse and slandering outside where she wouldn't bother the sick or the injured.

"Make it believable, would you?" He called out after her, and got a wave-off response. Satisfied, he turned to the Doctor. "Dr. Hojou," He started, thinking of how to word his next sentence now that Sango was out of earshot, "this is not the first time I've come into contact with that girl."

"I'm sorry? I'm not sure what you're getting at."

He could tell the good Doctor wasn't lying. His face was one of slight confusion. "You see, my friend and I ran into her last week, while she was getting attacked, and-"

"You saw an attack happen?"

"We intervened and helped her out, but she was pretty out of it, and… uh… ran away afterwards." He lied, not wanting the Doctor to know they'd abandoned her before. "Anyway, I was down here specifically because of her. My friend is interested in hiring her for a job."

Dr. Hojou smiled.

Taking it as a good sign, Miroku continued. "But I do need to know one thing… Can you find out if her attackers did… uh, more than bruise her?"

His smile faded, replaced by tightly drawn eyebrows. "You want to know if she was raped." He stated, his voice flat.

Miroku pushed away the urge to wince and nodded.

"She wasn't raped."

"I'm sorry?"

"She wasn't raped."

His eyebrow raised, curious on how the Doctor knew for sure. "How do you figure?"

"I asked her when she came-to for a bit, because of the bruises. She was out of it, but she denied being raped." The hint of a smile reappeared on his face. "In fact, she blatantly told me that she was still a virgin."

"Ah. Well, that's good news, isn't it?"

"Mmm." The Doctor replied, his slight smile still showing. "Well, if there aren't anymore questions, then..?"

"No, no, I'm quite done."

"Well then, you should be able to visit her tomorrow morning."

"I'll be back then." Miroku watched the Doctor turn and head back down the hallway, and then broke out into a grin. Virgin. A virgin!! She was a virgin!!! Oh, his plan could not be going any better.

Now Inuyasha was sure to agree to his scheme!

He could feel the insanely-happy mechanical laughter bubble up to his lips, and was just about to throw his head back for a good old-fashioned evil-ish loud laugh, when Sango appeared next to him, a scowl on her pretty face, choking any thoughts of anything humorous down his throat.

"That was not easy, you jerk." She growled, not at all unlike Inuyasha, and Miroku suddenly noticed that she was a bit wet around the eyes.

"Are… Are you crying?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Well, you said to make it believable, didn't you?" She wiped at her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "I told him I didn't know what the hell was going on, but they wouldn't let me see you and you were bloody."

"Oh, Sango. I didn't know you cared." His hand moved around towards her backside.

She brushed him away. "Don't think I care that much."

"So he bought it?" Miroku's grin remained, not discouraged in the least.

"Oh, he bought it, alright. I made sure it was believable." She pointed her index finger right into his face. "But remember, this is on you. He's going to blow a casket when he gets here."

"Somehow," Miroku replied slyly, failing at all attempts to repress his grin, "I think I'll be able to calm him down."

/-\-/-\-/-\

Inuyasha hung up his cell phone and jammed it into his pocket, rushing down the long hallway that led from the kitchen to the front ballroom, then up to the front door and out to the large drive where his car was waiting for him.

He leaped inside and turned his engine, gunning out of the driveway and into the street at record speed.

Fucking Miroku. What an idiot. Poor Sango sounded absolutely devastated.

Her voice drifted through his head again, her sobs stabbing at his heart.

"What." Inuyasha had opened his cell phone and growled into it, annoyed that someone was bothering him during a peaceful lunch.

"In-hic-Inuyash-sha?"

Eh? "Sango? Is that you?"

"Oh Inuyasha!" She wailed into his ear, her voice wracked with sobs.

"Sango, what is it? What's wrong?" It had to be something terrible. Sango didn't call him for no reason, and she certainly never called him crying unless it was serious. "Calm down and tell me."

"Inuyasha, it's Miroku! He-"

"What, did he try anything out of line?" He growled. "I fucking swear to Gods, I'm gunna kill that guy! If he did anything to hurt you, I'll-"

"No, Inuyasha, he was protecting me! He was protecting me and then they shot him and he wouldn't stop bleeding!!" She sobbed. "And now the doctors are saying that he won't wake up, something about blood transfusion, and I don't know!! Oh, Inuyasha, I don't know what to do!"

Inuyasha felt his heart stop.

Oh no.

No, no, no.

"Sango, where are you?" She gave him the address of the hospital. "I'm coming right now. Stay right there, don't go anywhere, okay? I'm coming."

"Inuyasha, wait, I-"

"I'm coming right now." He hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, and was off like a shot.

Inuyasha growled at the old hag who was taking up all the road in front of him and honked his horn multiple times as he tried to swerve around her. It was proving to be difficult, as it was midday, and people were out and about.

His thoughts raced to Miroku. He'd just been out on a freaking date, a day he had asked to get off specifically so he could take Sango out. A bite to eat, some hand-holding, whatever, and then they were coming back.

…What in all seven of the hells had happened? Who the fuck had tried to attack Sango?

The scene of the prostitute he'd saved being attacked only a week ago flashed through his mind, and he wondered if maybe it was the same type of attack. Maybe they'd tried to get Sango and Miroku had stopped them? The thought made angry blood surge through his veins and he had to bite his lip to keep from losing it and changing forms. His new car was not the best place for him to go full demon.

Keh. Fucking Miroku. Always having to play the hero.

He had to get to that hospital and force the damn doctors to fix Miroku up good. And if they couldn't, he'd be transporting him somewhere that had capable doctors who could.

Inuyasha would never admit it to himself, much less Miroku, or anyone who ever lived for that matter, but he was attached. He considered Miroku to be his best friend, letch or not, and he didn't know what he'd do with himself if he was killed off by a mere bullet. Miroku was stronger than that. He had to be to have Inuyasha as a best friend.

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever, but he reached his destination in less than twenty minuets, a record, and screeched to a halt outside in the emergency parking lot, yanking his car open and dashing into the air-conditioned waiting room.

The smells of the sick and the half-dead assaulted him, and he had to put his hand up to his nose to try and quell his intense senses. He hated hospitals. He didn't like sick people, and he hated the smells of medicines and sterilization serum.

He couldn't really locate Sango through the thick hospital smells, but after a few moments he saw her and rushed over to her hunched form. She was leaning over her knees on in the middle of a row of hard, plastic chairs. Poor girl. He could smell the slight tinge of tears that had been shed. She was probably still sobbing uncontrollably.

He reached out a tentative hand to give the only comfort he knew how, and was surprised to see her slump down across the chairs and mumble a little.

She was asleep?

…Wait a second… Warning bells went off inside his head. Something was off. Sango had been terrified. Sobbing. Panicked less than half an hour ago… And now she was sleeping, peacefully almost, with the slightest of smiles playing on her lips.

His eyes narrowed, and he grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her awake.

Her eyes popped open and grew wide when she realized it was him standing over her.

"Sango, where is he? Where's Miroku?"

"Uhhh..." She let out smartly. Then she grimaced. "Inuyasha, don't be mad at me, it wasn't my fault, he-"

Before Inuyasha could even begin to comprehend what Sango was babbling about, Miroku walked up.

"Inuyasha, you're here. I-"

He was abruptly cut off as Inuyasha's clawed hands grabbed onto his shirt and lifted it, showing impeccably toned stomach muscles. "What the-?" Inuyasha muttered as he felt around Miroku's stomach and chest area, searching for a bullet or stab wound. "Where is it? What the hell?" He looked up into his friends' surprised face. "You're fine!"

"I would be if you'd stop feeling me up."

Inuyasha hands dropped to his sides, his brain not quite catching up yet. "You're not hurt! You're not bleeding or dying!"

"No, I'm not. What would make you think otherwise?"

His eyes widened, realization finally dawning, and pure bliss flooded his senses like nothing had ever done so before. His body shook, and he bit back the large sigh of relief.

Miroku was okay. He was okay. He was alive and well and not bleeding.

But that meant…

Inuyasha turned slowly to face Sango, who sat watching the whole thing wearily from her seat. A low growl erupted from his chest, and her eyes widened in panic.

"Wait, Inuyasha, it wasn't- I mean, I didn't- Miroku, tell him!!" She squeaked out, red in the face.

"Sango." Inuyasha growled out, grinding his teeth together in anger. "Why the ever-loving-fuck would you lie to me about Miroku being on his death bed?!!"

"Inuyasha, I didn't, it-"

"Keh! I almost had a fucking heart attack!!" He raised his hand up to swipe at her, and he could smell the spike of fear that jolted through her. "I thought Miroku was fucking dead!!!" It wasn't so much that he was angry that she'd lied to him, although he was surprised that she had. He was angry that he'd acted like such a… woman… in front of complete strangers. His cheeks felt hot. They were probably bright red.

"I know!" She grit her teeth together and pointed. "And I'm sorry, but Miroku told me to get you down here, and you and I both know just asking wouldn't do it!"

"If Miroku's not dying, what the fuck am I in a hospital for?" He threw his arms up in the air to show just how frustrated he was.

"This way." Miroku replied and grabbed onto Inuyasha's wrist, leading him down the hallway.

"This had better be fucking good, Pervert. Cause I'll be beating the shit out of you if it isn't."

He dragged him to a large window that looked into a room, where a single bed was placed off to the right. Different machines were hooked up to a girl, monitoring her breathing and whatnot. He frowned at the girl lying in the bed. She was thin and pale, and he recognized her immediately.

"The whore we saved in the ally?"

Miroku shook his head. "She's not a whore."

"The girl does… that for money. She's a whore." He ground his teeth together in frustration. He could feel a migraine coming on.

"Things aren't always what they seem, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha turned on him in a flash, grabbing at the lapel of his shirt and pointing a sharp claw between his eyes. "Miroku, if you think for one-fucking-second that I'm going to have anything to do with… with whatever the fuck it is you're scheming, I'm going to rip you to shreds."

"You wouldn't kill me, Inuyasha."

"We're in a hospital. I'm rich. They'll revive you in a second."

Miroku's hands were up in the air, waving in a white-flag sort of way and tried his best to keep the light grin plastered on his face. "Hear me out for a second, would you?"

The Hanyou growled, but let go of his shirt and took a step back.

"Thank you." Miroku stated, straightening his shirt. "Now, remember that conversation we had? About grabbing some girl to pretend to be your fiancé?"

"Is that what this is all about?"

"Well, yes, I thought that-"

"You thought fucking wrong!!" His hand slammed against the wall on his right, making a young nurse that was passing by jump. "I turned the idea down, remember?"

"Yes, but-"

"She's a fucking prostitute!!"

"No, she's-"

"No girl I touch is going to be a fucking whore."

Miroku opened his mouth to state that he was sure Inuyasha's ex-girlfriend had been with many other guys as they'd gone out, but wisely said something completely different. "Inuyasha, she's a virgin."

"And I sure as hell ain't- …What?"

"She's a virgin. She wasn't whoring herself out. My guess is when we stumbled across her… predicament; it'd probably been her first job, gone horribly wrong."

He could see the muscles in Inuyasha's jaw twitching. "How do you know this?"

"The doctor confirmed it. She's just dehydrated and malnourished. But once she gets better, which should be within the next couple of weeks… Well, she'll look positively stunning." He glanced over at Inuyasha, who stood stock still, but wasn't interrupting, which was a good sign. "Once she wakes up, we can let her in on our little scam. There's got to be something she needs, why else would she turn to prostitution? Plus, think, Inuyasha. …Do you really want to be forced into a marriage with Kikyou?"

Inuyasha forced down a frustrated scream that was fighting it's way up his throat. The fucking pervert was right. He didn't see a way out of it. It was a last-ditch effort, but it could possibly work. And Inuyasha did not want to be in a forced marriage, whether it be with Kikyou or someone not crazy.

Biting his lip, he looked through the window at the pale figure, then placed his hand on the doorknob. "Can she have visitors?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not till' tomorrow morning."

"Fuck that. Give me a few seconds to think it over." He shoved open the door, then slammed it behind him , locking it for good measure, and pulling the curtain over the window after giving Miroku one last angry stare, then turned to the bed.

He slowly made his way to the bedside and peered down at the girl, looking starched out in the stiff paper gown and intense hospital lights. Her hair contrasted horribly with her pale white skin.

He frowned.

She certainly didn't look like much. But she was in the hospital. No one looked good in the hospital. His hand went out to touch her hair. Greasy. Not at all like he'd remembered it from the ally that night. Her lips weren't painted that deep red color; they matched the rest of her skin, making her look unearthly.

He let out a sigh and clenched his fists. "Fuckin' A, how does Miroku come up with this shit?" He growled out, agitated that he was even seriously considering it.

"Sou…ta."

Eh? He looked down at the girl, wondering if she'd awoken. Her brows were drawn, and her mouth turned down, but her eyes were closed. She was still out.

Out and dreaming.

"Souta…"

Who the hell was Souta? Her pimp? Inuyasha bit down on his tongue. That was probably it. Argh! Why was he putting himself through this! He should just run off into the woods and never come back, that would ruin the stupid marriage plains his father was concocting!

"…save you… Souta. I'll save you."

….Okay, well… Prostitutes didn't normally save their pimps. Inuyasha frowned. "Who are you trying to save, wench?"

She rolled her head to the side and moaned.

He waited a few seconds before he asked again. "Who are you trying to save?"

"….Souta…" She moaned again. "…brother… No more beatings… Save you."

It was like he had deflated. His anger was gone and only slight annoyance remained.

Holy shit.

He was actually going to do it.

With a growl, he turned and yanked open the door, slamming it in his wake. He turned to see a slightly worried Miroku and gave him a curt nod. "Fine. Stay with her here. When she comes to, call me. Then offer her the job, got it?"

Miroku nodded vigorously.

"Good. I'm going home. I've got a migraine." With that, he turned and stomped out of the hospital.

/-\-/-\-/-\

It was hours later when Souta had finally been released and allowed to go up to the sleeping room. He lay on his bed, his stomach mashed to the sheets beneath him, unable to cry anymore. It was useless to do so. What was the point? What was the point in being strong? In being brave? What was the point in keeping up his spirits if they could crumble and disappear so easily?

Oh Gods, was he ever in pain. It had hurt so much. It had hurt so much. He could already feel his mind blocking out the worst of it, and he was left with a dull ache that throbbed mercilessly throughout his body.

'Ow...' He let out a choke, felt a taste in his mouth that he absolutely hated, and picked up the top sheet of his bed, placing the rough fabric to his tongue and licking it over and over. Anything to get that taste out of his mouth. A sob welled up in his throat, but it was dry, and only came out as a gurgle.

'I don't know how much more I can take.' He thought bitterly, burying his head into his stiff pillow and willing himself not to let out an anguished wail. He couldn't be too loud. The headmistress would punish him for making noise, and he didn't want to be punished more than he had already been today.

No more.

…This was all his fucking sister's fault. The bitch.

The last memory he held of her sprang back into his mind.

He woke up to see her kneeling in front of his face, a finger pressed tightly to her lips as a sign of silence. "Souta," she whispered, "I'm going to be gone for a few days."

"Where are you going?" He whispered back, sitting up in his bed.

"I'm getting out of here and making some money, then I'll be back for you, okay?" She gave him her best smile and then turned and tiptoed quietly towards the window, opening the pane slowly, inch-by-inch and easing her leg out, turning to give Souta one last thumbs-up sign.

"You'll come back for me? Promise?" His voice trembled.

She winked back at him. "Wait for me, Souta. I'll be back before you know it, and I'll have a home for us to go to. And then it'll be just us. No more cleaning toilets for the headmistress!" She smiled one last time and waved. "I love you kiddo. I'll be back before you know it."

And then she was gone.

And Souta was alone.

Ever since that moment he had held his sister's last words at heart. He had believed that she would be back for him soon. That she would save him from the chores they'd had to do back then.

But oh, how things had changed. Souta wasn't doing chores anymore. The headmistress wasn't making him get onto his hands and knees to scrub toilets. She was selling him off by the hour like some animal.

'Be back before I know it my ass.' His bitter thoughts leaked through his body and stung his heart.

His sister was the biggest liar in the world.

He could only imagine what she was doing now. He knew that she spent most of her time selling her body to strangers, the headmistress had told him such. What other job was a girl her age going to get?

What the hell had she been thinking?

'She didn't want you anymore.' His mind explained. "But she said she'd be back." He answered.

'And you can see how that worked out.' The voice in his head was sarcastic, making the sting even worse.

He was old enough to understand that his sister was selling her body. She had probably forgotten all about him.

'You were dead weight.' His mind reminded him. 'You were bringing her down, dragging along behind her. She didn't want to take care of you. You were too needy.'

It was no use arguing with the voice anymore. He'd given up on really doing so long before now, and he believed the voice with all his heart.

His sister didn't want him anymore. She didn't want him holding her back. Didn't want to bother taking care of him. No, she'd rather be whoring herself out. A slut. That's what she was. A slut who enjoyed the disgusting act of sex with anyone as long as they paid. A bitch who'd abandoned her brother in a place that was slowly killing him from the inside out.

"Kagome..." He whispered, and he wished he could cry more to ease his pain. "I hate you." Of course it didn't happen. He wasn't even allowed the privilege of tears. "I hate you." How absolutely cruel. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

"Who does Souta hate?" A small voice asked, tearing him from his thoughts.

He turned his head over to see Rin leaning up next to his bed, her eyes wide and hesitant, and her thumb tucked firmly in her mouth. He frowned, wondering if she'd heard anything coming from the headmistress's office earlier. He didn't feel like answering questions about any sounds she might have heard. "What are you doing up, Rin?" He asked, trying to keep his voice light and forcing a small smile. It was the best he could do.

Her thumb came out of her mouth with a small 'pop', and she grasped the sheets of his bed. "Rin couldn't sleep." She murmured. "Rin heard Souta crying. Is Souta okay? Is Souta hurt?" Her eyes were as large as they could possibly be. She was honestly worried and slightly frightened.

It crushed him to find out, though, that she'd heard his tears of pain from the office. He smiled again, as best he could, and shook his head.. "No, I'm okay, Rin. Just a bad day. You should go back to sleep."

"Can Rin sleep with Souta?" She asked hurriedly, as if he'd refuse her.

Not that he ever could. She was his to protect. Months after his sister had not returned, he'd sworn that where his sister had failed in protecting him, he would succeed in protecting Rin.

Rin shuddered, her whole body shaking. "Rin is scared. Evil lady will hurt Rin and Souta a lot. Rin doesn't want to be alone."

Souta frowned. Then sighed. "Sure Rin. Come on in." He lifted up the blankets and let her crawl next to him. She smiled and snuggled into him, falling asleep almost instantly. But Souta couldn't' sleep. Other than the dulling pain, he could only lay awake and wonder about their current situation. Wonder if he and Rin would have to spend the rest of their lives in the orphanage of someone who had such control over the both of them.

"No..." He whispered to himself. No, he refused to spend the rest of his nights and days doing dirty favors so the headmistress could earn some extra pocket money.

No, before she could make him suffer again, he'd kill himself.

He'd rather be dead than go through what he had been through so many times before.

Souta got no sleep that night. He lay in bed, his body wrapped securely around Rin's tiny frame, wondering how he could possibly keep her from meeting the same fate.

/-\-/-\-/-\

Okay, I caught a rather large mistake I made in chapter two, but it'll be some time before I can fix it… Dammit.

In the second chapter Inuyasha mentions that Sesshoumaru is married to Rin. That is horribly wrong, he's actually married to Kagura… Sorry about that.

In this story, Rin is Souta's fellow tortured orphan… poor girl.

-munches on dove chocolate-

…Also, sorry about the little divider things between scenes… I just got a Mac for an early birthday gift, and I can't freaking figure out how to post the regular dividers on this thing!! It's driving me insane!

But my Mac also makes me happy! Because I've started a DeviantArt account! And would you know, I've already got a picture for this fic up on my page! You can view it at: It's for this chapter, so you should be able to guess the scene easily! And hey! Leave me a message if you'd like!

SugarRos